In current lighting applications, energy efficiency is a more and more important subject. One possible way to reduce the energy consumption of a lighting system is to switch off or dim one or more light sources thereof when no object (i.e. vehicle or pedestrian) is present in a space, and conversely to switch on or dim up the light sources(s) when an object is present in the space. In order to do this, the presence of an object in the relevant space has to be detected. There is a strong need for sensor-driven light control systems, because of their advantage of bringing down the energy consumption of the light source(s) thereof, and thereby improving cost-savings, and life-time of the light source(s).
Conventional thermal sensors typically measure temperature of a certain point-of-contact. However, with advancements in Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, thermopile array sensors can measure temperature of a specified area without any contact to an object. It is known to use thermopile array sensors to control the light source(s) of a lighting system.